Down the Road
by Tsubame Gaeshi
Summary: RyoSaku - Two years down the road, and Ryoma and Sakuno has respectively become the captains for their tennis teams. Sakuno has feelings for Ryoma, so, since he doesn't make a move, she will.
1. Confession

Hey! Um...I know...I'm not done with the other one, but I'm writing another one here, called Down the Road! Hehehehe...it's about Ryoma and Sakuno, set when they're in third year, that means 2 years from the original timeline of Tenipuri....so, please, sit back and enjoy!  BTW, there're hints of Ryoma/Sakuno, so don't say that you're not warned! Disclamer : Tenipuri doesn't belong to me....but Takeshi Konomi~!

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Sakuno's POV 

It had been a long time since I knew Ryoma-kun. Probably about, three years? Ryoma has changed alot, as in height, and physical appearance. But he was the same Ryoma-kun I met two years ago. 

Sometimes I would wonder whether I like Ryoma-kun or not. Maybe I should give up on liking Ryoma and like someone more worthy of my admiration. But Ryoma's the closest I've been to any guy. Don't get me wrong, I've never been very close with guys, and this was no exception to Ryoma as well. I've tried to start conversations, and that's the furthest I got. 

This will make me be aware of what he will see me as. I always wondered whether he liked me or not, all the doubts pouring in. Does he think of me as a pretty girl? Or probably an annoying one? Or just a blur, ditsy one....I just don't know! If only I could read his mind.....  
  


It has been 2 years, and Ryoma hasn't tried to go further in our relationship. If I watch him practise tennis, he would stop and get me a can of Ponta. That's probably the most he's done to me. Since Ryoma is the captain of Seigaku's Boy's Tennis Club, he had to practise everyday, rain or shine. I understand how he feels as well, being the captain of the girl's team. 

Now, I can't wait anymore. I don't want the suspense. I've got the suspense for two years. If he's not making a move, I will.

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Author's POV

Ryoma had just finished tennis practice, and was on the way to the water taps to wash his sweaty face. Behind him, Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo were following their captain. Horio was dragged by Kachiro and Katsuo, just because he was thrashed badly by Ryoma. How Horio became a regular, Ryoma never knew.

Before Ryoma could lean towards the taps, he was greeted shyly by Sakuno, the captain of the girl's team. Then again, he wondered how Sakuno became the captain. This world must be falling apart....

"Ryoma-kun......I.....I need to speak for you for a moment....."Sakuno stuttered. 

Ryoma followed Sakuno to a secluded part of the courts. He observed her as her brown wavy hair bounced on her shoulders. After his comment on how her hair was too long, she untied her pigtails and then got it cut. She looked very different, but still, she was still the undecisive Sakuno. 

Finally, she stopped.

"Ryoma-kun.....may I ask a question?"

"Yes...?"Ryoma said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Um....do you have any feelings for me...?"

"No. Not at all,"Ryoma said, turning away. 

Sakuno felt her blood boiling right up to her head. Tears started flowing from her brown eyes. She clenched onto her fist. She couldn't control herself anymore. So her days of suspense was useless. 

"Ryoma-kun...no...BAKA!"she said, her hand raised, slapping the arrogant boy. She then fleed, tears falling onto her cheek. Ryoma rubbed his cheek, looking back at Sakuno.

"Stupid girl......so that's what you wanted to tell me all the while....."

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Wahh! It's my first on this sort of fic...and I'm sorry if this seems a bit OOC, but ppl change as time passes...no? So, please R&R, and flame if there is a need to flame, and please don't flame too badly~! ^^;;


	2. Turning to a Friend

Hey! I have the urge to continue this story, very quickly. This began when my best friend E Wah(Penname : blueey) was having problems(wait, not problems..)..fine. It was hard for me to read her fanfic, so I got her to leave space in between her text! Hehehe...so well, please R and R! And thanks, to minna-san who've been reading, commenting, and reviewing this fic! Thank you, thank you! *bows down like a maniac* Thanks for all the comments! Wow, and I hope you all enjoy this! *beams*

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Sakuno ran as fast as the wind, running the fastest her legs could take her. She was crying ; she didn't think that Ryoma didn't even hold a single bit of feeling for her. 

"Ryoma-kun....you useless, no-feeling baka!"Sakuno said, slamming her fist onto the wall. She looked at her bleeding knuckles. 

_Hmm....I need to get my knuckles bandaged...._ Sakuno thought to herself, wiping the blood on her knuckles with her shirt.

Meanwhile....

Ryoma is at the infirmary, waiting for the nurse to tend to his cheek. 

"Ryuzaki has a firm palm, doesn't she..?"asked the nurse.

"Don't talk about her..."Ryoma said. He rolled his eyes, thinking about the ditzy girl. How could she ever think that Ryoma, the smart, cool, tennis captain would even think of liking an undecisive, blur girl? He just shook his head at the thought of Sakuno.

Finally, the nurse was done with bandaging Ryoma's cheek. There was one big white patch on his cheek from far. Of all people, Momo just had to approach Ryoma. Ryoma's former senpai, Momo, was wearing his new school uniform. 

"Wah~ Ryoma! Oyasashiburi!(Long time no see!) Wow, what's with your cheek?"Momo said, checking out the grown boy's cheek. 

"None of your business, Momo-senpai."

"Well, tell me! Got girl problems...?"Momo said curiously, eyeing Ryoma. 

"Betsuni."

"Wait, hmm......maybe I should give Inui this picture of you and Sakuno together....."

"NANI!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"Ryoma exclaimed. He HAS a picture of he and Sakuno together? Oh. No. No....No way. Ryoma was going to get his hands on that whatever picture. Or probably he was so gonna kill Momo. 

"So, just tell me, what's troubling you?"

Soon, Momo knew everything from Ryoma. 

"Wah! I knew it since the day I saw the both of you together! You're so cute together!"Momo said, smacking Ryoma on his back.

"Shaddup..."Ryoma retorted, thwacking his senpai with his racket bag. 

Suddenly, both of them became quiet. Momo was observing the huge bump on his forehead. Ryoma then broke the silence.

"Hey, Momo-senpai. What would you do if you were in MY situation?"Ryoma asked.

"I'd think about it, see whether I actually have any feelings for that girl. Then, I would tell her whether I even bear any feelings for her."

_Darn it.._ Ryoma thought. _I didn't even think whether I would have any feelings for Ryuzaki. I'm sure she must be angry at me now....._

"Hey, Ryoma, you spacing out there?"Momo asked, looking at his junior. Suddenly, the both of them heard some people shouting.

"MOMO~! DOKO NI IRU...?" Ryoma saw Ann-chan shout. Well, it was no surprise that the Fudomine girl had gotten attached to Ryoma's senpai. After all, he knew that since he was a first year. Too bad that they weren't in the same school.

"Hey, Ryoma, gotta run, see ya!"Momo said quickly, slinging his bookbag on his shoulder. Ryoma saw the spiky haired boy rushing to Ann-chan. Well, he presumed that Ann was the object of his heart.

He walked home silently, avoiding human contact the best that he could. He wouldn't want comments, or rather remarks from his schoolmates or his ex-senpais. Well, he planned to be in the same school as all of them next year, anyway, so they were going to be his senpais. Well, it's better than going to some unknown school with no one to turn to. Besides, Seishun Gakuen High School was recommended to students who had completed their studies in Seishun Gakuen High School, the high school division of Seishun Gakuen schools.

Since it was still early, Ryoma decided to pop by a shop for a snack. He didn't notice it, but he entered Kawamura's sushi shop. He was greeted by two faces he didn't know, and four of his former senpais as well. Kaidoh and Momo-senpai were nowhere to be seen, though. 

"Nya~! Ochibi! You're no longer you're old self, eh? You've grown! It's been two years since all of us has seen you...."Eiji chattered happily to his kouhai. Fuji, as usual, was smiling, and hardly changed. 

"Echizen, I told you the drinking-milk plan would work. Now, look. You're as tall as our old buchou, 179 cm,"Inui said as he scribbled new data on Ryoma's new phsyical appearance into his data book. 

"I was growing the other time, Inui-senpai. I haven't grown fully yet two years ago. Now, it has NOTHING to do with milk,"Ryoma said. 

"Hmm....who's this?"said another person. His green eyes flickered, staring at the newcomer. His other friend also had their eyes fixed on the boy.

"Ah, that's Echizen, our old regular member,"Fuji said, clearing the doubts of his senpais.

"And, who're you?"Ryoma said, turning to the two older boys.

"I'm Hikari Yuuji, 3rd Year, captain of Seigaku High School's tennis team,"said the green-eyed boy.

"I'm Yuuji's twin, Hikari Yuushi. Vice-captain."

It took Ryoma some time to register that the two 18-year old boys were twins.  They had messy hair, both of the same colour, brown. You could even say that the both of them looked like Tezuka. He wasn't really paying much attention to the other two boys, since his other senpais were goggling over him.

Finally, Oishi noticed the bandage on Ryoma's cheek.[A/N : After such a long time!]

"Hey, Ryoma, is your cheek ok?"Oishi asked worriedly. It just wasn't Oishi to let someone injured to be left alone. 

"Yes."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaa~ what happened nya~?"Eiji queried. It would be better if Ryoma kept his mouth shut in order not to be fooled by his senpais. Fuji smiled at Ryoma.

"Well, he just got slapped by Sakuno,"Fuji said, smirking.[A/N : Waaa~ how did he even KNOW that?]

_I am going to KILL Fuji-senpai. Tonight. Or maybe now. I just need a knife from Kawamura-senpai....._ Ryoma thought, his blood on fire. How his senior know, he never knew. Inui was scribbling even more data into his book.

"Nya~ how didya know that, Fuji?"Eiji said.

"I saw Ryuzaki crying at the school compounds, so I wondered whether she was okay, so she told me everything."

"Wait! Weren't you in Seishun Gakuen HIGH School, no JUNIOR High?"Eiji queried suspiciously.

"Well, I needed to tell Ryuzaki-sensei something, so I decided to pop around our old school."

As everyone crowded around Fuji to listen to the story about Ryoma and Sakuno, Ryoma thought it was best for him to leave as soon as possible in order to avoid being asked many questions by his senpais.

So, it was just him, alone, walking silently back home. He stopped by a vending machine and bought himself a can of Ponta.

He thought back and wondered what he had done to make Sakuno like him. Fine, he had to admit he was good at tennis, smart, arrogant, and what more? He had tons of fans, and he never paid attention to them. Sakuno was nothing special, or was she? 

She would sometimes go approach Ryoma during lunch time, and hand him an obento she made for him. It was rude to refuse anyone's gifts, so he took that as well, up to the top floor of the school and eat his meal there, with the company of the girl. Well, it was delicious, so Ryoma often enjoyed eating the obento that Sakuno prepared. All her hard work, all into that box of food. Nothing was better than eating with hardly any company as well, since she wasn't the noisy type. That time, she had already got her hair cut, and untied. She began to seem less annoying day by day, though.

What else have they both done together....oh yeah! Ryoma suddenly remembered the time the spent playing tennis. Sakuno seemed to be awful at tennis, but still, he couldn't help her much. To master tennis, one must practise everyday, train as much as possible, and play as young as possible. It had been two years since he last played with the brown-haired girl, so she should have improved to become the captain of the girl's tennis team. 

Come to think of it, he had also bought the girl some Ponta if she watched him practise hitting with the wall at the tennis courts. It wasn't nice to just let her sit there, gazing at him just like that.

As Ryoma looked back at all the memories he shared with her, it didn't seem so bad. Among his fan club, he was the one who stood out from the crowd. She could just probably be the one that he actually likes. But, what if she doesn't feel the need for Ryoma anymore?

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Wah.....this wasn't very bad, was it? Please review, tell me what you think about this. Bye~!

-Kaye-chan(go to !)


	3. True Feelings

Hello~! It's Kaye-chan, back with another chappie of 'Down the Road'! I'd thanks everyone fr reviewing...it feels so great that people are actually reading this horrible fanfic of mine....^_^ so, thank you~! And I'm sorry for the late posting of this chapter ; I seem to be getting lazier day by day..

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"Did you hear about that......Ryuzaki confessing to Echizen....?"said a couple of students before school started. 

"Yeah! Who hasn't.......and I can't believe it, does Ryuzaki think that Echizen would fall for her? She must be off her tree, yeah?"Another girl commented. Ryoma heard everything from far, everything about Sakuno and him. What's wrong about Sakuno? She was just an average Japanese girl.

"Ryoma-sama rejected her....man, I pity her, but what would Ryoma-sama think of her as if there's a loyal and pretty girl, meaning me, supporting him~?"blabbered Tomoka. She never stopped talking. Well, she is still Tomoka, after all, so he guessed he couldn't do anything about it.

"Ano, buchou..."said Kachirou. 

"Yes...?"

"We all heard about you and Ryuzaki-san....."

"So? I don't wanna talk about it,"Ryoma answered, getting up from his seat. School was starting any moment, and Ryoma still decided to get out of his classroom, pronto. He knew the girl's tennis team were training hard, even in the morning. There would probably be a chance for him to see Sakuno.

Ryoma walked swiftly and walked outdoors. He wanted to see Sakuno for no reason. He wanted to see how she was doing, though his presence in front of her would stir up more trouble. From a distance, he could see a few girls playing tennis.

"Wah, sugoi ne, buchou!"commented a girl, looking at the tennis ball that flew past her.

"Nah, you just need to practise more, Yamatachi-san,"Sakuno said, smiling. 

Ryoma continued to observe Sakuno in silence. She was indeed a good player, not like how she was two years ago. Probably all her inspiration to get better at tennis was none other than the ouji-sama(prince). The one serve that Sakuno hit just now, it just looked familiar. Her opponent could not hit it back, even though trying in vain.

"Wah, buchou, that serve was good!"Kiko Yamatachi said. Ryoma could still remember her as one of Sakuno's good friends, and also one of the good members of Seigaku's girl's team. 

"D-don't mention it..."Sakuno shyly replied. Fine, so she was still the shy Sakuno that Ryoma met. 

Now, Ryoma remembered why the serve was very familiar. It was his own Twist Serve, performed Sakuno style. Considering how good she is now, it's not a surprise how she could pick up that serve by observing Ryoma alot.

"Oi, Ryuzaki, just now, was it a Twist Serve?"Ryoma asked the girl curiously. It just had to be. 

"So what if it is?"Sakuno snapped. "Kiko, serve please,"she continued, trying to avoid looking at Ryoma.

"I think I can help you improve it. Meet me at the Kaginozuka Tennis Garden at 5 PM today,"Ryoma said, turning back to school.

"And by the way, school's starting soon, so I advise you to change and go for class,"Ryoma continued. Sakuno turned to Ryoma and saw his back at her, heading back to the school grounds.

_Is he sure he has no feelings for me...?_ thought Sakuno. Whatever it is, guys are very hard to understand.

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It was finally lunch time. Ryoma's stomach had been growling because he skipped breakfast(apparently Nanako cooked eggs on toast, so Ryoma decided to pass on that. Wasn't there anything Japanese that Nanako could cook, like chawan mushi or something like that?). Great. And there wasn't anything interesting to eat for lunch either. Ryoma was beginning to get cranky. 

The boy marched out of the cafeteria to the balcony of the school. He had no choice but to stay starving. Probably taking a nap would fill his empty stomach a bit. 

After a short nap, he was woken up by the creaking of the door from school. It was unlikely for Ryoma to get up so easily, but honestly, he wasn't even sleepy at all. 

"Ryoma-kun....what are you doing here?"said a surprised Sakuno. So she was the one who opened the door.

"Taking a nap."

"Say, you haven't had your lunch, right? Here you go..."Sakuno timidly said, handing Ryoma a lunch box inside a small Hello Kitty bag. Ryoma opened the bag, opened the lunchbox, and was amazed by the amount of food in it. He instantly woke up at the sight of the food. His brown eyes grew bigger, and he of course gobbled it down. The whole lunchbox was clean when Ryoma handed it back to Sakuno. Sakuno chuckled as she looked inside the empty lunchbox.

"What's so funny to laugh about...?"Ryoma said. Sakuno smiled back at her ouji-sama.

"Ah, nothing...."

"By the way, was that your lunch?"Ryoma asked.

"Yup. Seeing you so hungry made me pity you, so I sacrificed my lunch for you.....you better be contented...."Sakuno replied. 

"But....did you eat anything else?"Ryoma went on and on, full of guilt. 

"Of course, of course!"Sakuno said, reassuring Ryoma. She smiled broadly. 

_So, he does think about me...._ Sakuno thought. 

Finally, after a moment of silence, the school bell rang. It was time to go back to class.

_Darn, when I was about to bring out that topic..._ Ryoma thought to himself. He found himself in an awkward situation when talking to Sakuno. That probably was the best time, but then the school bell had rung.

"So, I'll see you around...."Sakuno shyly said before turning back to the school.

Ryoma nodded his head, and then turned back as well.

_Sakuno....gomen nasai...really, gomen...._ said Ryoma to himself.

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Hi....I'm so sorry! I think I better continue on the story '1000 Words' for now!


	4. A Kiss

Hiya~! Nya nya~ I wanna thank everyone for their reviews.....*sobs uncontrollably* (it seems as if I'm getting an Emmy or Oscar...LOL!) Well, so I'm gonna write this with my other fic as well...haih, I am a BIG procrastinator.....(however you spell that...)...and...I'm sorry if this is sooooooooo OOC! Sorry sorry sorry!(Looks like that has become my favourite word...LOL!) And, to readers of '1000 Words', I seem to have lost my inspiration to write it, but I'll continue it!! Well, once again, everyone, thank you, thank you!(esp. E Wah-chan who gave me the idea of writing this...)

Regatto WAAAA~ fine fine, I'm continuing...but anything BUT Shinji.....^^;; *sweatraining at the thought of Shinji*

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"Sakuno-chan, let's go for a movie!"shrieked an excited Tomoka. Tomoka liked Disney movies, and often dragged Sakuno to go along with her. Since the movie 'Brother Bear' just came out, Tomoka had constantly been bugging Sakuno.

"Ano, sorry, but then, some other day, ok?"Sakuno said politely. It wasn't like her to reject other people's requests but then in this case, she had made an appointment to see Ryoma. 

"Waaaa~ FINE! MIYU-CHAN~ wanna go watch 'Brother Bear' with me?"shouted Tomoka to the other side of the classroom. 

"Ne, gomen, Tomo-chan, but I'm busy after school..."replied Miyu. Everyone knew that Miyu was the captain of the netball team, and they were having a match a few days later, so Miyu had been drilling her players.

"Mou, why doesn't everyone wanna go watch the movie with me?"Tomoka questioned to no one in particular. Sakuno decided it was for the best to leave Tomoka alone. She grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs to the tennis courts. There was no tennis practice today ; and Tomoka knew that.

"Oii....Sakuno-chan, there's no tennis practice today, right?"Tomoka said to Sakuno. She was beginning to get suspicious towards her best friend.

"Well, no, but then I'll be busy later...."

"Please? Pretty pleaseeee.....?"

"Sorry, I made a promise already to wait for Ryoma-kun until his practice is done."[A/N : Sakuno made that up, by the way.]

"Awww.....but....WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH RYOMA-SAMA? Oooooh~!"Tomoka squealed in delight. Sakuno merely sweatdropped. 

"No! Not a date.....!"Sakuno said, blushing. Well, it would be fun if she went on a date with Ryoma. 

"Hmmm...well anyway, I think I'm gonna ask some other people....laterz, Sakuno!"Tomoka said, winking at her buddy. 

Sakuno sat down under a shady tree, digging her book bag for an empty book. She could probably use the time waiting for Ryoma by collecting some information on how some of the regulars play tennis.[A/N : So she's become like Inui as well...] She took out her fluffy pink pen and began jotting down important facts.

"Hmm...Ryoma-kun's twist serve goes like this....making it a 100% of an in...."Sakuno murmured to herself, scribbling it in her notebook. She was going to try improve her strange version of Ryoma's Twist Serve. In addition to the data she has collected, the percentage of her succeeding to use the Twist Serve would be 100%.

"Ok, that will be all for today, dismiss!"Ryoma said clearly and loudly an hour after Sakuno's arrival at the tennis courts.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun, that was a good game you played against Katsuo-kun,"Sakuno complimented to the boy who no longer bore the cute look. He still did have his cat eyes and his smirk, but he grew tall.

"Thanks. Wait for me here, I'll be done soon,"Ryoma continued, heading towards the school locker room.

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Finally, Ryoma took Sakuno to the tennis courts in silence. He had attempted to start conversations, but he admitted that he wasn't good in socializing, especially with girls.

The tennis garden was filled with students from many schools. Hyotei, Gyokurin, Fudomine, you name it, there were at least students from those schools. There were also a few Seigaku students, including Ryoma and Sakuno.

They walked furthur to other courts to practise. Ryoma felt like teaching Sakuno his Twist Serve, even though he hated the thought of people using his moves to play tennis. But Sakuno was an exception. He never knew why.

"First, you grip like this..."Ryoma said to Sakuno.

"Ah..._sou da_..."

It continued for a long time. Teaching Sakuno was a bit annoying, because Ryoma knew he never had patience. And to grow up, he also needed some patience, so this became a challenge to the 15-year old teenager.

Finally, at 6 PM, Sakuno mastered the twist serve.

"Wah! It looks so nice!"Sakuno exclaimed, looking at her serve. 

"Congrats, you've mastered the Twist Serve..."Ryoma congratulated Sakuno. She blushed a little, and of course turned away. 

"Come, let's celebrate. I'll even pay. Burgers or sushi?"Ryoma continued, beaming. He finally managed to teach someone without turning away rudely or saying 'mada mada dane'. 

"I think sushi would be good..."Sakuno replied, still thinking.

"Or maybe burger would be wonderful, but there's beef, and sushi has fish...ano...what should we eat?"Sakuno mumbled undecisively. _The same old Sakuno..._ Ryoma thought.

"So, sushi'd be it!"

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"Here you go, the bill!"Kawamura's father said, handing Ryoma the bill. It read 2000 yen. 

_God...am I going to be bankrupt..._ Ryoma thought. He had changed the grip for his tennis racket a week ago, cutting another 2000 yen from his allowance. 

"Ano, Ryoma-kun, thanks for the sushi..."Sakuno said.

"Need me to walk you home?"

"Iie, it's ok..."

"Nah, I think I'd better walk you home, Ryuzaki-sensei would kill me if anything happened to you."

They walked home in silence, as usual. It would be awkward if Ryoma started the conversation, and really, he had nothing to talk about. It was the same with Sakuno.

They reached Sakuno's doorstep. Ryuzaki-sensei was not home yet.

"You'll be alright at home, alone, I guess..."Ryoma said. Maybe staying with Sakuno for a few hours alone at her house would be a bit overboard.

"Yup. Oh yeah, one thing, Ryoma-kun..."

"Nani?"

"Thanks for the day,"Sakuno said, giving Ryoma a quick kiss on the cheek. Ryoma blushed and touched his cheek before Sakuno went into her house.

_Sakuno..._ Ryoma thought again and again.

_Why can't I get you out of my mind? Maybe...maybe I do like you...._

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WAA! I know, punch me, kick me, for making Ryoma so different! Wait, not different, just OOC! Really, but it's the only way to stitch his relationship with Sakuno! Hehehe...and please tell me how you think about this chapter. I still think I need to re-do on Ryoma's part... T_T!


	5. In The Cold

Nanjaroh hoi hoi~! Well, I hope that you are all enjoying this fic as much as I enjoy writing it.....^_^ and somehow I've got no idea how to continue it..(I didn't plan!) so yeah, ^.~! And, be warned...I probably swear...a bit, so the usage of swear words might be present, it depends whether you see it as a swear word, but it's better safe than sorry, neh? I am SOOO sorry for posting this up late ; I've been too busy ^_^ or you could say been occupied with something else. Oh well...

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_Darn it....why am I thinking so much?_ Ryoma thought to himself. Lately, or maybe, for the past few hours, he had been deep in thought, especially about Sakuno. 

_Could it have been the kiss...no. It wouldn't have affected me this badly...._ Ryoma repeatedly said to himself. He had been going cranky ever since the brown haired girl gave him a kiss on his cheek. Not like it was a big deal. 

Ryoma walked without any destination. He walked like a lost, homeless puppy, with nowhere to go to, no one to turn to.

What was so interesting about the short-haired girl?[A/N : Yes, in the first chapter, I stated that she got her hair cut short]She was just like any ordinary girl, and yet he found her interesting. 

He walked to a sushi shop, which happened to look too familiar to him. His former senpai was standing behind the sushi bar with his usual shy grin. It was none other than Kawamura-senpai, Ryoma's senior with the heart burning with passion.

"Konnichiwa, Echizen, what would you like to have today?"said his senpai, smiling shyly. 

"One chawan mushi would do,"Ryoma replied. Kawamura retreated to the kitchen and placed the order to his father.

After a few minutes, Ryoma recieved his order. A cup of warm steamed custard egg was served to him. There were some cubes of meat inside the steamed egg, and also some mushrooms in it. After quickly devouring his meal, he payed his senpai and quickly left to home. He grabbed his racket bag and walked out into the cold. It was approxiamately 10° Celcius outside, and Ryoma found himself freezing. He walked home quickly, trying to keep himself warm as he walked.

He dug his pocket for the key.

"Acha![A/N : Remember when he dropped his rice ball into the hole? That's what he said, I think.]"Ryoma said, noticing that he didn't bring the house key to school.

He took out his handphone[A/N : Then again, I never know if he has one, but I have one ^_^] and dialled his house phone number, hoping that either his baka oyaji or his cousin would open the gate for him. 

"Thank you for calling the Echizens, but we're not in right now, so please leave your message after this beep. BEEP!"said the answering machine.

_Darn, they're not in. _Ryoma said to himself. He thought of climbing into his house, but either way he still needed to break into his house door, so it would be better to stay out. But where could he stay? He felt his toes freeze as the wind blew. 

_There's only one way to keep the body warm : tennis._

Therefore, Ryoma rushed to the tennis courts and took out his red racket. He dug for his tennis ball, and of course, began hitting with the wall.

You could say it was coincidental, or it was just fate, that Sakuno had to be there. She was too bored at home with no one to talk to and nothing to do, so she had decided to walk to the tennis courts. And the same tennis court that  Ryoma was at.

Ryoma was having fun playing tennis with the wall. Footsteps were approaching. 

_Now...who might that be?_ Ryoma thought. He continued hitting against the wall, trying to pretend to not hear the footsteps.

"Ano! Ryoma-kun..."Sakuno said weakly, looking at the shounen[A/N : young boy].

"Ah. Sakuno..."Ryoma said, startled. Why was she here? Wasn't she at home waiting for her grandmother to come back?

"Umm, continue.....I'll just sit here."

"Nah, it's okay. Want a drink?"

"Okay."

Ryoma walked to the vending machine and chucked some coins into the machine. In return, he took two cans of Ponta. He handed one Ponta to Sakuno.

"Arigato..."Sakuno said softly, opening her can of Ponta. She gluged down a bit of the drink.

"So, what are you doing here? Weren't you waiting for Ryuzaki-sensei?"

"Well...she said that she would be at home by 7 PM....and it's only 6, so I thought of coming here since it's pretty boring at home."

"Ah, I see."

"What about you, Ryoma-kun?"

"Nothing. I forgot to bring my keys with me, so I'm stuck out of home, and so I need to wait till either my dad or mom or cousin comes home so that I'll be able to go in. It was pretty cold outside, so I decided to play tennis to warm up my body."

"Ah, sodeska[A/N : really?]?" 

After a few minutes of silence, Sakuno sneezed.

"Are you cold?"Ryoma asked the girl, alarmed.

"No, I'm fine..."Sakuno said, smiling. He could see that she was shivering. He took out his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Keep it for me, please?"Ryoma whispered in Sakuno's ear. 

"Ano....Ryoma-kun..."Sakuno turned to the boy.

"Well, I've got to go now, ja, mata ashita!"he called out to her, his racket bag slung on his shoulder. 

_Ryoma-kun....arigato._

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

Sorry for the late update! I guess that my mind hasn't been working, so yes! I'm not sure whether I should continue, or just leave it as it is. Please help me out, and state whether I should continue this story or not....^_^ Arigatou!

Btw, the jacket I was talking about is Ryoma's tennis club jacket. Boy, I pity him, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts in 10° Celcius! Must be freezing. Well, you never know what one does for love. LOL. ^_^ Hope you enjoyed the story. =P!


	6. A Present

Hey everyone! Just to say, sorry for the SUPER late continuation. It's even MORE than a year since I stopped continuing…sorrys! (. Hehehe. Well, it's coz I guess I haven't been really inspired any more…and my interest towards tenipuri has somehow…faded. sob.! I guess it's probably true. But thanks for my friend Mel :) who made me re-read my fanfics, and guess what? I think I'm gonna continue 'Down The Road'! :)

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Now, that's a nice sweater! Sakuno gleamed, staring at her own handwork : a bright red knitted sweater. Well, she decided to hand this to Ryoma when returning his regular's jacket to him. It took her SO many weeks to finally make one, and also it took so much of her life's blood. Well, she wasn't an expert with handwork. Plus, not forgetting her own things to do in life, e.g. studying for exams, practicing tennis, and much more.

She folded the sweater and placed it in a canvas bag that she bought for 100 yen from a supermarket. Whenever she did her groceries, she would use that bag because it was ecological and more convenient to carry around. The regular's jacket was inside the bag already. She couldn't afford seeing her ouji-sama left cold and frozen when his jacket was happily safe in Sakuno's hands.

"SAKUNO! Time to make a move! You're bound to be late for school if you continue being so slow!" bellowed her grandmother from below. She slung her book bag on her shoulder and the canvas bag on the other.

"Hai, obaasan! I'm coming!" Sakuno replied. She reached for her jacket and took off.

"MATTE! (wait!) Your breakfast!" Sumire Ryuzaki shouted out at the door, only to see the shadow of her granddaughter running enthusiastically.

_Kids these days, so enthusiastic to be at school so early. I was just exaggerating about the time. Who knew she never looks at the clock!_ Ryuzaki-sensei thought, glancing at the clock. It was only 7 AM, and by the rate Sakuno ran, she might reach there in just 15 minutes, with an hour and fifteen minutes to go before school started.

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At 7 AM, Ryoma was still fast asleep. Nanako tried almost everything to wake up that sleepyhead, including cooking his favourite Japanese dish : chawan mushi. Right in front of his face! And yet that boy never even opened his eyes.

_Baka! He's going to be SO late to school! God. Please save me!_ Nanako thought, looking at her cousin. Finally, she took a bucket of cold waterA/N : you can probably guess what's gonna happen after this. and splashed it on Ryoma.

"RYOMA! I have been here for the past 20 minutes, trying to even PRY your eyes open, but you're off to slumberland, forgetting reality. PLEASE! Wake up, get dressed, you've GOT to go to school!" Nanako said, annoyed.

"What's the problem with her?" Ryoma muttered in his breath, checking the clock. 7 AM. He was supposed to do something at that time.

He checked his calendar, and yes. Tennis practice right in the morning.

"OH KUSO!" Ryoma cursed, looking at the time. He dressed up and quickly ran for school.

Finally that boy knows why I have been so drastic this morning. SIGH! Nanako thought, shaking her head.

When Sakuno arrived the school, it had been only 7.15 AM. She was panting, and sweat was dripping off her fair face.

_Why didn't obaasan tell me the time! I thought I was so late…but I think there should people here.. at least someone who will be able to keep me entertained before school starts._ Sakuno thought, heading to her locker to take out some books and put in some. What she didn't notice was a figure behind her. He was definitely late. And it was none other than the ouji-sama himself, Ryoma Echizen.

"Hey Ryuzaki."

"Oh. Ohayo!" she said, her face looking a bit surprised while looking in his eyes.

"You do run very fast. I was tailing you, and yet, I still couldn't catch up."

"Really? Umm… thanks! Because of the tennis training I think. Obaasan never fails to torture us girls as well."

"Hey, I'm running late for practice this morning so, see you soon okay?"

"Yup, bye!" Sakuno said shyly, glancing at Ryoma. Her face was more like a tomato now, especially after Ryoma's praise. She slammed the locker door shut, and picked up her belongings from the floor. She glanced at her own canvas bag.

"Oh NO! RYOMA-KUN RYOMAa!" No matter how loud Sakuno shouted, Ryoma was miles away, already playing tennis with his fellow juniors.

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Lunchtime approached, and Ryoma was the hungry one once again. He doesn't have his easy-to-bully senpais anymore.A/N : As you should recall, this story is three years ahead of time and all of Ryoma's senpais have gone to Seishun Gakuen High School(and not the junior high one) He didn't bring his pocket money too, because he was rushing out of the house.

He walked up to the rooftop again, sunning by himself. It wouldn't be nice to ask for food from Sakuno if she didn't even offer it to him. It would make him feel dependant on that girl, and that wouldn't be nice. He ignored his growling stomach and took a nice, long nap.

"Ano, sumimasen, did you see Ryoma-kun around?" Sakuno asked Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo. The three of them shook their head.

"You could always try the rooftop. He often spends his time there," replied Kachiro.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of there? Arigato!" she squealed in excitement as she rushed off to the rooftop.

"Girls are SO like that!" Katsuo continued, staring at Sakuno's antics. The three of them shrugged and walked off to the canteen.

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The door creaked silently as she pushed it open. Within her canvas bag were Ryoma's regular jacket, the sweater she knitted for him and also a nice obento box she prepared for him the day before. She was positive she could make him slightly happy, because she heard from people that Ryoma was starving the whole morning. That silly boy probably forgot his lunch and also his pocket money that time.

Ryoma, startled, awoke at the sound of the creaking door.

I MUST somehow oil that door one day. I tell you, it has been creaking since the day I step foot in the school. Ryoma thought, a bit irritated about the fact that he was awoken by someone's presence. He yawned and turned back.

"Ano, konnichiwa Ryoma-kun!" she said shyly, as usual. She sat beside the grown boy, looking at him. He looked back and cocked his eyebrow.

"What brings you here?"

"Here's your regular jacket, and an obento box for you, and also a sweater I knitted for you," Sakuno replied, taking out the contents of that canvas bag of hers. When she mentioned the word 'obento', he started feeling his stomach screaming out at him, telling him to 'graciously' accept that blessing from the heavens. She took out his old regular's jacket that he had handed to her that day when it was cold. The other thing that caught his eye was the finely crafted bright red sweater that must have taken a lot of time to make. He smiled at the thought that Sakuno was really a very good girl. Although she was the ditzy and blur girl he always knew, deep down she was a very beautiful girl, and always strived to try something new. The last time he saw her with a needle was during class, and when she finally gave up sewing because the needles kept on poking her fingers, making them bleed.

Ryoma also noticed some band-aids on Sakuno's fingers. She has gone through that much trouble just to make a sweater for me.. Ryoma thought silently.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun! Why don't you try the sweater so that I know whether it fits you?" Sakuno said, breaking the silence.

"Un." Ryoma took the red sweater and wore it over his head. It fit perfectly, as if it was tailored. After all, Sakuno had kept hold of Ryoma's regular's jacket all the while.

"The sweater…it's really nice. Arigato, Sakuno," Ryoma said. For the first time, he used her first name. She was rather astonished, but smiled back anyway. Somehow, she felt that this was the beginning of something. Sakuno gleamed at the thought of it.

Ryoma, you baka! Sakuno said to herself. She felt that she was going to fall for Ryoma, and even deeper than before.

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okay, i probably screwed up the last part! Sorry sorry sorrry! oh well. Hahaha. I know i am THAT bad in writing nowadays :( havent been writing in ages, so yes. Sorry for the weird story! My writing is THAT horrible. :P . Ryoma seemed soooo OOC!! Aiyar.. Hehehe.


	7. Preparing for the Prom

Hey.! Sorry if i screwed up the formatting of the previous chap, gomen gomeeeen!! Well, I think everything should be straightened out, I've replaced that chap and hopefully it's formatted even more properly.. haha mind my bad english. Oh i suck. Hahahaa.! Ah, and besides that, there'll be some momo/an here D hehehee..! spice up the story. ENJOY! :D

The end of the year was approaching. Time flies, honestly. Sakuno was deep in thought. The school prom was just in a few weeks time. She pictured herself dancing with her prince charming, Ryoma Echizen.

But who was she to blame? That image was most likely a dream, a very fake dream. For one thing, Ryoma would NEVER go to a dance. Besides, if he intended to go, why would he think of taking her? There were just so many girls obviously better than her ; she could see her dream going up in smoke.

Sakuno shoved her thoughts away and looked back into her Math book. _Perhaps math problems are less complicating than my thoughts_, Sakuno thought as she continued her studying.

Meanwhile..

The Seigaku boy's tennis team members(or rather the ex-members, besides Ryoma) were gathered at Kawamura's sushi shop. Ryoma's senpais were happily chatting among each other, since at high school, they didn't have much chance to communicate. Kawamura was happily making sushis for his companions, and Inui was, obviously, taking down notes, as usual.

"Oi, Echizen, there's gonna be a prom in a few weeks time," Momo said cheerily, staring at his junior.

"So, what?"

"You must come for it nyaaa... it's the only time we can finally see each other, ochibi!" Kikumaru chirped in, with a sushi on his right hand. He popped it into his mouth and grinned at Ryoma.

"But, we're seeing each other now!"

"Mou, you can't weasel out of this! If you do.." Momo said, smirking. He cracked his knuckles and smiled broadly at his junior.

"Tch. Mada mada da ne," Ryoma said, walking out of the shop. However, Inui managed to stop him.

"The prom would be a very good place to get data. And you will go, Echizen, won't you? Unless you would want to sample my latest creation, Super Deluxe Exclusive Special Inui Juice, with extra mustard..?" Inui said, a jug of thick bubbling yellow liquid in his hand. Ryoma definitely knew better than to be Inui's guinea pig. He sighed, and his other two senpais grabbed him by the shoulders. Tezuka, who was looking that way, was just speechless. Well, he ALWAYS was speechless anyway, most of the time. Fuji grinned and turned to Oishi.

"This is going to be interesting, ne, Oishi?" Fuji said calmly.

"Mm." Oishi was just going to observe. Thank God he wasn't as unfortunate as Ryoma. Kaidoh and Kawamura's thoughts were the same as they observed.

Meanwhile, Ryoma tried to release himself from the grip of his two evil seniors. They were gleaming in victory ; and Ryoma definitely could not bear it. He never liked losing, especially to something as.. simple as that. But he knew he would NEVER want to drink that yellow stuff. It looked HIDEOUS. And disgusting, obviously.

"Saa, ochibi.." Eiji beamed, grinning at Ryoma.

"TIME FOR SHOPPING!" Eiji and Momo said in unison, dragging poor Ryoma out of the shop.

"This is torture, I tell you. TORTURE!" Ryoma shouted, and soon his rants were no longer heard by the rest as they had dragged Ryoma far, far away. Curious Inui trailed behind them, along with his trusty notebook and pen. Fuji was interested too, and luckily he had brought his camera and some film that day.

"Ii data," Inui said, with a gleam on his spectacles. Fuji just smiled along.

"Ochibi! That number looks GREAT on you!" Eiji shrieked, tossing the dress(yes, dress) in his hand behind him.

"Demo, Kikumaru-senpai, I'm a BOY, not a girl! Stop dressing me in dresses!" Ryoma sulked. Fuji was snapping photos right away, while Inui scribbled in his notebook.

"Echizen's right, Eiji-senpai! We've got to look for suitable tuxedos for him to impress the girls!" Momo said, taking Ryoma out of Eiji's grip and they went off to the men's section.

"Oh. Oh yeah.. My bad, ochibi! Gomenn!" Eiji said. Not long after that, Eiji started throwing gowns into Ryoma's dressing room. Ryoma stomped out, annoyed.

"I'm going off. Ja."

"Oi! E-chi-zen..!!" Momo shouted after the boy. Eiji reacted faster, and in a split second, Eiji was in front of Ryoma, blocking his pathway out of the store.

"Ochibi! You cannot leave! Not yet, not yet! We still need to get you in those gowns.. err I mean, TUXEDOS there, you see! How are you going to go for a prom in a.. pair of jeans! That just isn't right, nya!" Eiji said, with a tiny pout.

Ryoma sighed, and just thought. _This was going to be a long day. A VERY, very long day._

Sakuno just couldn't help daydreaming about Ryoma in a tuxedo. Now, he'd look very classy, especially with a tie. Sakuno smiled at the thought of it.

_If only, if only.._ Sakuno said in her mind. However, if her wish would come true, that would definitely be the day Inui stopped collecting data, and Tezuka would be as cheery and bubbly as Kikumaru. In short form, it would be IMPOSSIBLE for it to come true. Sakuno sighed.

_Well, I better get back to studying, or else I'll be dead meat!_ She said to herself, opening her Math book again.

"Ochibi...!!" Eiji stared at the shonen, speechless. Clad in a black tuxedo and a black striped tie, Ryoma looked definitely the type of guy any girl would fancy bringing to a prom night. Momo, Inui and Fuji were also short of words. Well, Fuji was just snapping away, so it was pretty simple. All he was doing was being a photographer, and yes, photographers need not comment. But he admitted that Ryoma looked very sophisticated and, posh, in that get-up.

"You look awesome, Echizen! Now.. since it was Eiji-senpai's idea that we bought your tuxedo for the prom, he would have to pay for it also, ne, Eiji-senpai?" Momo said, trying to avoid paying the bill. Eiji sighed, and digged out some money from his wallet. He handed it to the cashier politely, while Ryoma tried getting out of the tuxedo. In just minutes, the five of them were leaving the shop.

"Ochibi, you owe me 10000 yen! There goes my money for burgers...!" Eiji complained.

"I never said I wanted to go! Besides, you were the one.. or rather you ALL were the ones who forced me! Surely you have to pay for it.. I wouldn't want to waste my money on the tickets or the tux..!" Ryoma fought back.

"So, Echizen, who're you going to take to the prom? ," Fuji asked, smiling, as usual. Ryoma didn't think of it. Besides, he couldn't imagine himself going for a social function like that. He lacked social skills. He left that question unanswered, but his senpais were more than happy to give suggestions.

"Mou, what about that obaa-san's granddaughter? She's cute! Well, for you, that is," Momo said happily.

"Sakuno Ryuzaki, third-year at Seishun Gakuen Junior High, girl's tennis team captain, blushes at the thought or sight of Ryoma.." Inui said, reciting the notes from his precious book. Ryoma twitched. Inui definitely had every piece of information of everyone in the world. You never know, he might end up going to jail because of stalking.

"Uwoo! Ochibi! You must take her! She obviously has a huge crush on you! Take take take TAAAKE!" Eiji added in. Well, who else could he take? He definitely couldn't take err.. Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter's big-mouthed friend, nor anyone else from his 'fanclub'. Ryoma sighed at the thought of it. He was teased big time. But what could he do?

"Mada mada da ne," Ryoma said flatly, leaving his nosy seniors behind. However, they were fast enough to catch up with Ryoma. He sometimes wondered why his seniors kept on pestering him. Perhaps they had nothing better to do.

As they were walking, Momo caught a glimpse of An Tachibana, or as he called her, Tachibana's imouto(younger sister). Say, he hadn't got a date for the prom yet. They didn't say anything was wrong about inviting people who are not from Seigaku. Besides, he doubted there was any rule against it. _Better safe than sorry_, Momo thought to himself.

"Oi! Tachibana imouto!" Momo exclaimed. The girl laid her eyes on the spiky-haired boy. He could feel the blood rising to his cheeks.

"Momo! How many times have I told you, it's Tachibana An!" she said, walking towards Momo. His face was turning redder by the second. _Shimatta_Translation : damn_! Eiji-senpai, Fuji-senpai, Inui-senpai, and the worst of all ; Echizen, were here! God, why didn't I think? Oh no. NO! Fuji-senpai had his camera and.. no. NO! Oh no. Don't tell me.._ Momo thought.

"Momo!! Don't just call for me without a reason!" An stomped off. Before she could move her leg muscles, Momo caught her by her shoulders. This made Ryoma and Eiji snicker. Fuji was busy taking photos, and Inui, as usual, was scribbling some stuff inside his notebook. _This won't do any good ; I'll have to pick up my guts and ask An-chan right now, or else.. or else she'll be angry with me all my life. And no, that cannot happen, that must not happen.._ Momo thought again.

"An Tachibana, would you ever please, allow me to escort you to the Seishun Gakuen prom?" Momo said, feeling his cheeks turn to a shade of red.

"Why not, Momo? When is it, anyway? I'll need to prepare myself" She said and flashed a big grin at the crowd. "In 2 weeks time on the Saturday!" Eiji said happily. "Uwaa, you're lucky nyaa! Now all I have to do is look for a date...!" Eiji continued.

"Ah.. hontoutranslation : really?" Momo said to the girl. She flashed her beautiful smile.

"Of course! I'll be waiting for you, Momo! It's a date!" she winked, and bid adieu to the 5 of them. "Ii data.." Inui said. Fuji had been taking many photos. He never seemed to run out of film.

"It's a daaaate, Momo-chan" Ryoma and Eiji said teasingly to Momo.

"Ah, just shaddup, will you?" Momo said, his face still red from An's last sentence. _It's a date..._

Meanwhile..

"NANI?!? You're going to Seishun Gakuen's prom with the bike-stealing, teammate-hurting baka?! Have you gone out of your mind, An-chan? Your aniki would be very, very worried about you! So you shouldn't go!" Kamio exploded, just like a time-bomb. He could not, or rather, did not dare picture his An-chan dancing happily away with his all-time rival, Momoshiro Takeshi. What could she see in him? He was just another spunky dude, anyway. Kamio thought he was waaay better than that boy from Seigaku.

"Mou, Kamio, stop worrying about me! Everything will be fine, shinpaishinaiyotranslation : don't worry!! Besides, aniki, it would be interesting, ne?" An said, turning to her brother for help. She couldn't see why Kamio was so jealous.

"Aa.. it would be fun, An. After all, you need to have some fun in your life," Tachibana said. He knew his sister desperately wanted to go with that boy from Seigaku ; he could see it in his sister's eyes.

"Well, Kamio, you cannot do anything right now, even buchou has given his agreement, and I personally think it is a good chance for An-chan to socialize, she will definitely look stunning in a gown, I can already see her dancing with that Momoshiro person, and they'll hit off very well, and probably they might even try for a ki.." Shinji muttered, before being rudely interrupted by Kamio.

"Do you ever know when to shut up?! Anyway, you're right, Ibu-san, I can't do anything about it.. so, An-chan, what are you waiting for? We need to go get a dress for you.." Kamio said sheepishly.

"Mou, Kamio, you can just read my mind! I think we'll leave for now, aniki! Take care okay? We need to go shopping before the shops close.. JA!" An said, dragging Shinji and Kamio out of the room.

"You take care too...!" Tachibana Kippei shouted after his sister. He smiled, and went back to reading his book.

"Ja ne, ochibi! Zannen munnen mata raishuu!" Eiji chirped before dumping the young boy at his doorstep with his tux. _Well, at least I got something done. Now.. about getting a date.._ Ryoma couldn't think about it. It would be peanuts to get a date ; many girls often asked him for a normal date. Just that he couldn't bother about all that. He was never that free to go out with a girl, anyway. He'd rather curl up with a can of Ponta and Karupin by his side. _Now, that would be a good day, if I ever needed a break from tennis_..

As he slid open the door to his house, he was greeted by Karupin, with a warm meow. Ryoma smiled, but frowned again at the sight of his dad.

"Na, seishounen, what's in that box?" Nanjiroh queried. Did his son get a bouquet of flowers from his ever-loving fans? Chip off the old block, obviously.

"Nothing."

"Really! Don't you dare show your disrespect for your fath.. HEY! Where're you going? RYOMA!" Nanjiroh shouted at his son, who was retreating to his room. Ryoma yawned and slammed his door. His oyaji, was definitely very annoying. Then, he thought of Sakuno. Yeah, that was her name. Sakuno Ryuzaki. Ditzy girl, brown hair, big brown eyes, flower hairclip, yeap. That was her all right.

It would be rather nice to take her to the prom, yes. She's done a fair bit of things for me. But.. would she go? Besides, how am I going to ask her? I lack communication skills. Hmm.. maybe, maybe, I'd just drop a note in her shoebox, ask her to meet me after school, then nobody would know.. perfect. Ryoma said to himself, as he planned everything. And I'll take you to the prom, and tell you how it is to go to the prom with Ryoma Echizen.

Now, I'm about to face a group of readers who are going to whack me in the head for writing such rubbish. GOMEN! Yes I know it's lame. Because it's written by me. Sorry for the OOCness! Just needed to spark the romance between ryoma and sakuno :P hmm.. so so so sorry! But, if you liked it, thankyou :) and please drop a review, if you don't mind. Thanks for taking your time to read it, though, even if you disliked this. Thanks anyway. Thankyou. Thankyou thankyou thankyou. (I am mad. Hahaah)


	8. Sakuno's Dream Come True

Hmm.. hey! Well, thanks for your patience minna! :3 hehehe.. well anyway, thanks for your reviews too.! Hehehe :3 holidays at this time of the year, and that's probably why you haven't gotten chapter 8 yet. Anyway,

Cinpii > thanks for the review, i guess i'll try better, but i don't know, i'm not even 16 yet, i think i'd rather write like how i write now. Hahaha i guess i just have the maturity of a 13 year old girl. Oh and that is very true ) unlike some of the older writers, i am somehow, very young, but they never restricted me from writing anyway. So sorry if you don't like it, but that's all i can do.

NOTE : The 'Plastics' of Seishun Gakuen belong to me. Hahaha. Just wanted to spice up the story :) Oh, and please mind my language, swear words, you know, btch, and all. Make the 'Plastics' sound even worse than they are.

The rest>thanks for your reviews! wears a banner saying i-must-finish-this-in-a-night

Undine1 > well.. if you don't mind waiting, the next chapter? This one's really long. I THINK. Hehehe.. and yes, drama, and more drama, and that takes pages. But i promise you, next chapter! But, there will be characters from my previous fanfics. As in, the regulars' partners. For the partner-less, I'll just add someone. Besides, the whole team is going, and they're supposed to have a partner. I'm trying to keep this a straight fic, so no yaoi. Gomen to yaoi fans! Lol not like I have anything against it.. I enjoy reading yaoi fics, but this is supposed to be straight.. so yes.!

I better stop being Shinji and, onto the story for now. And as i said, i'd be taking characters from my previous fics, like 'Ice Cold Baby Girl', and Himawari, so if you haven't read it yet, you should either read it, or don't read this. oh, and they'll appear in the next chapter. I canNOT fit everything here : enjoy reading!

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It was way past midnight, but the light in Ryoma's room was still shining brightly. Ryoma re-read his letter for what seemed to be the twentieth time.

_Hey. It's Ryoma. Yea, pretty weird for me to write a letter right? Well, there's something I have to tell you, but I don't dare say it straight in your face, so I'm writing this down in black and white. Sorry if this seems so insincere, but I doubt I would be able to say anything if I had to tell this to you face to face._

_As everyone knows, the school prom is coming soon, and you know my senpais, they're forcing me to go for it, and I definitely need to go.. and with a partner as well. So, could I please have the honour to escort you to the school prom? I'll be waiting for you as usual at the rooftop. Ja._

_Ryoma Echizen_

As Ryoma slipped the letter into an envelope, he thought of Sakuno's locker number. Besides, he needed to drop the note in a locker after all.

_Say, was it 206 or 207?_ Ryoma thought in his mind. He had no whatsoever reason to memorize the girl's locker number anyway. _I think it was 207._ Ryoma scribbled the locker number on the envelope and placed it in his racket bag.

_Now, time for some shut-eye..

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_

"RYOMA! RYOMA! Time to wake up!" Nanako shouted from downstairs. No response. She stomped upstairs to the young boy's room and knocked the door gently, forcing herself to be gentle to Ryoma.

"Ryoma, it's time to wake up.." Nanako said. Ryoma grunted and covered his head with his pillow.

This time, Nanako whacked the door as hard as she could, and the hinges broke off. Nanjiroh was staring in awe.

"Ah, gomen uncle, I'll fix it up later today," Nanako said as she smiled at her uncle, hoping that her uncle wouldn't stare at her that way. Nanjiroh went downstairs and grunted. _Not surprising for Nanako to break Ryoma's door. He's such a hardhead._ Nanjiroh thought to himself while munching his breakfast.

Ryoma was fast asleep until he heard the door break off its hinges. He yawned, rubbed his eyes and stared closely at the door. It HAD broke off. Nanako had gone to take a pail of ice cold water, and before he knew it, he was drenched in water from the Antartic Ocean. His head was soaked in water, and so was his bed. _I swear she does this to me everyday_.

Trying not to be late for tennis practice that morning, Ryoma skipped breakfast and headed off to school. Before that, he needed to drop 'the' letter into Sakuno's locker. He'd want her to see it first thing in the morning ; so that he would get a reply during lunch at the rooftop. Ryoma slid the letter through the thin long slots in the locker numbered 207. _Yawn, now to go for tennispractice..

* * *

_

Word had spread throughout the school even before school started that Ryoma would be taking one of the girls to the school prom. All the girls chatted excitedly as they daydreamed about dancing with Ryoma. Sakuno too thought about it, but decided against it. Besides, how could she be compared with the other prettier, and not to mention, 'plastic-er' girls?(A/N : Well, if you've seen the movie Mean Girls, you might just get what I mean. It's kind of a word I invented myself.. but :) hahaha.And, when I mean 'plastic-er' girls, I mean by those 'queen-bee' type of girls. Those who have the whole school bowing down at them. Every school has them, right? They're those snobbish girls who think that they're too pretty, gorgeous, and etc. to be excluded from everything.. in short form, super popular and, mind my language! btchy as well.)

Sakuno was nothing compared to them. They had dyed their hair blonde, and they painted their nails pink. Even though it was unacceptable in Seishun Gakuen, they had their way. They were three girls, namely Miko, Kazumi and Steffi. Steffi, their 'queen', was half Japanese half German. She was very smart, and sly as well. Somehow, Sakuno never saw eye to eye with Steffi. Steffi obviously had a thing for Ryoma, seeing the way she eyed him. She was downright evil. Unfortunately, Sakuno's locker was next to Steffi's. In short form, Sakuno had to bear Steffi's bragging everyday. Steffi was filthy rich, and she had ridiculed Sakuno and Tomoka countless of times since she first entered in second grade.

That morning, Sakuno sauntered to her locker after tennis practice in the morning. She had to face Steffi during tennis practice too ; and had to work with Steffi. Steffi was vice-president because she got many votes. She must have forced everyone to vote for her. No one dared defy her 'greatness'(A/N : She seems to be sounding very much like Atobe. No, actually. WORSE than him..). But she could never beat Sakuno, because Ryuzaki-sensei preferred her granddaughter to Steffi. As much as Steffi wanted to suck up to Ryuzaki-sensei, she never understood why Ryuzaki-sensei didn't treat her how the rest treated her. She was used to being the best, and being the queen, but with Ryuzaki-sensei, she was just a nobody.

Tomoka was chirping happily beside Sakuno, following her to her locker.

"Na, Sakuno-chan, probably Ryoma-sama will take you to the prom! Everyone says he will be taking someone.." Tomoka said happily. She was glad for the two. Despite her fanaticism over her Ryoma-sama, she felt that Sakuno was perfect for Ryoma. Besides, they both have affections towards one another.

"Dream on, girl. Ryoma will be inviting me, of course," Steffi bragged. Miko and Kazumi agreed in their girly/btchy way as their stared at their fingernails.

"Oh no! My nail! It's CHIPPED! What am I to do..!?" Kazumi whined.

"Oh my GOD! That's a code red! Code red!" Miko said loudly. A group of their followers came quickly with a nailclipper.

"We have no choice, Kazumi-san. Clip it, or it'll remain as it is," a girl said. Kazumi sighed deeply. "Alright then. Clip it."

As her nail fell onto the ground, the whole group of girls were fighting for the measly nail. Kazumi took out a nailfile and filed her nail.

"It's better than it being chipped," Kazumi said. The rest merely agreed.

Steffi snapped her fingers, and a whole horde of boys crowded around her like bees crowding over honey. She pointed to the locker, and soon the boys were having a catfight, seeing who has the honour to open Steffi's locker.

"You get to open my locker today, Yuuji-chan. Hayaku(faster), I can't be waiting all day."

"Here you go, Steffi-sama. Are?(as in, Japanese 'are', and not theEnglish'are'.)There's a letter there," Yuuji exclaimed. Steffi snatched it the instant Yuuji took the letter.

"These are my private matters, Yuuji. Off to your own work, everyone!"

"HAI, STEFFI-SAMA!" The boys said as they marched off to do their own daily tasks.

"That Steffi always has to cause a commotion.." Tomoka grumbled to Sakuno. Sakuno just shrugged. What could she do anyway?

"Oh. My. GOD. RYOMA ASKED ME TO THE SCHOOL PROM!" Steffi shrieked in delight. Miko and Kazumi were squealing in joy.

"Wait just a minute. Did he even SPEAK to you?" Tomoka queried, curious. This must have been a mistake. A **terrible** mistake.

"No, but it says so in this letter. Aw, he's writing this because he's shy to talk to me face to face.. how sweet.." Steffi cooed. She tossed the letter to Tomoka.

"Read it yourself, biatch. Let me know when you're convinced." Steffi said. It was the worst being Steffi's enemy.

Tomoka was reading the letter intently. It never mentioned Steffi's name at all. _Maybe she wrote it herself.. but how could she forge his signature?_ Tomoka thought. She handed the letter back to Steffi and headed back to where Sakuno was. Sakuno was staring in awe at a corner of the school hallway. She had this blank expression on her pale face.

"So, Ryoma-kun did really ask Steffi to the dance, huh? I knew it. I knew it a long, long time ago. Why was I so dumb to even THINK that he would take me? I'm a big baka. Baka baka baka BAKA," Sakuno muttered to herself. She WAS starting to be like Shinji.

"Aw, come on, Sakuno-chan. I bet that was fake. Ryoma would NEVER ask that showoff Steffi to the dance. Besides, he never mentioned her name in the letter," Tomoka said, trying to comfort her best friend. During the toughest times, Sakuno stood strong and often fought against Steffi and winning, showing Tomoka that Steffi could be beaten. Sakuno would have never gotten involved in the whole Steffi thing ; it was all because of Tomoka herself who loved attention. And that was what Steffi loved too. Thus began the feud for popularity, especially in Ryoma's eyes. But the strong Sakuno never looked bad. In fact, Sakuno never said that anything was impossible.

"So what? I always thought I had a chance.. and then again, why do I think of such things?" Sakuno mumbled.

"No, Sakuno-chan! You DO have a chance. You still have a chance! Maybe Ryoma was forced to write that letter to Steffi.. why don't you ask him?"

Sakuno walked away from the crowd as she mumbled to herself. _This is bad. VERY bad. What would Sakuno do? I guess this leaves me one thing : confront Ryoma-sama!_ Tomoka thought. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

There had been alot of chatter in the school about him asking a girl to the prom. Ryoma thought Sakuno would have been overjoyed by the thought of that, and subconsciously blabbed it to everyone. Ryoma frowned at the thought of everyone knowing that he asked Sakuno to the prom, but it was alright. It was Sakuno after all, and everything was absolutely alright. Somehow, Sakuno had been trying to avoid eye contact with him. She looked depressed. That was.. unlike Sakuno.

However, on the other hand, some other blonde girl who was constantly accompanied by a crowd of people was smiling so much at him. _Are her lips glued like that, or what?_ Ryoma thought as she flashed him another one of her all-time smiles. Ryoma just turned away.

_She's freaky. Hell freaky._ Ryoma said to himself as he sweatdropped.

* * *

_How could Ryoma-sama ask the worst girl in the universe to the prom? It is just UNACCEPTABLE! Steffi, of all people. STEFFI GUNDERBAND! _Tomoka thought to herself. Ryoma never started a conversation in his life with _that_ girl. How could he just suddenly ask her?

_Ah! There he is. He better have an explanation ; or else, he is SO going to get it from me._ Tomoka marched off to the boy, oblivious of everything. As she approached him, he stared. Why did she even insist on talking to him anyway? Ryoma was way too busy to have a chat with some random girl. The loud-mouthed girl. However, she was approaching him.

"Ryoma-sama. We need to have a chat," Tomoka said, her tone somewhat unlike what it normally was.

"Tch. Yada."

In a split second, Ryoma was drenched. Drenched in what seemed to be, ice cold orange juice. _Darn, she was holding a glass of orange juice. Must be my unlucky day today._

"ECHIZEN RYOMA! You STOP right there!" Tomoka shrieked. This stirred up alot of attention. Sakuno rushed to Ryoma, and so did Steffi.

"Ryoma-kun, daijoubuka?(are you okay?)" Sakuno asked, taking out a packet of tissue and wiping her prince.

"Sakuno, stop acting so nice to him! He has no right to treat you like dirt! You've done so much for him, and he doesn't know how to appreciate you at all. Come on, people like him do not deserve someone as special as you!" Tomoka fumed.

"Pooh, you're just jealous, Osakada. Jealous of the fact that Ryoma did NOT ask that friend of yours to the prom, and decided to ask me, which would have obviously been his choice. Why, who wouldn't want to go to the prom with the beautiful me?" Steffi scoffed, wiping the sticky orange liquid off Ryoma's jet black hair.

_Oh no. Since when did I ask her to the prom? Die. No wonder she was smiling so much at me! She thought that I ASKED her to the prom? In her dreams!_ Ryoma thought to himself. He threw Steffi a 'you-must-be-mad' look and shoved her off.

"I didn't even ask you to the prom," Ryoma said in his calm and composed tone.

"Oh, come on, Ryoma-chan! Don't be shy, I've got it her in black and white!" Steffi laughed, waving a piece of paper in front of him. Her two companions agreed in unison.

_Oh NO. Did I even write to her? Oh. OH. She's Sakuno's locker neighbour. And I.. slipped that letter in her locker._ Ryoma thought. He smacked his head, and went off to the boy's washroom. _This is one big dream. A nightmare. I'll just drench my face, and I'll be back in bed.._

What Ryoma thought was absolutely wrong. It was a living nightmare, especially with that Steffi girl clinging onto him like glue. He had made Sakuno sad, and Tomoka was staring daggers at him. _What can I do?_ Ryoma thought. This was the first time he felt so helpless.

"Um.. Steffi, right?"

"Oh, YES! What do you need from me, Ryoma? I can give you a light kiss on your ear, or maybe, if you want things hotter.."

"Leave me alone."

"What did you just say? REPEAT THOSE WORDS, if you dare." Steffi was fuming. No one dared defy her. No one could defy her. She was the greatest! No, not even _the_ great Ryoma could. That was unacceptable.

"Leave me alone, I tell you! I never even intended to ask you to the prom. I just forgot Sakuno's locker number and mixed it up with yours, and then came this huge mistake. Just leave me alone, can't you?" Steffi released her grip on Ryoma. She was in deep shock. No one rejected her offers. No one dared say such words to her. He walked off, in his own demeanour.NOTE : I follow the British spelling, fyi. hehehe

"Ryoma Echizen. You are SO going to pay for this!" Steffi exclaimed vengefully. He couldn't reject her and get away with it. But when those words slipped out of her mouth, he had already left.

* * *

Now, he definitely cleared things up with Steffi. Now, Sakuno. Where was she? He tried looking for her, he asked where she was, but no one seemed to know.

_Maybe she left for home. Maybe.. maybe she went to the tennis courts._ Ryoma thought as a million possibilities of where Sakuno could be flashed in his mind. _Maybe.. maybe she was at the rooftop. Say, I haven't checked whether Sakuno was there. Perhaps she would be there._

Ryoma was right. Sniffing away in the corner of that open void was none other than Sakuno. She sobbed quietly at the corner of the rooftop. At least no one could see her in such misery, she thought. But she was wrong. Standing right behind her was none other than Ryoma, the last person in the world that she wanted to see.

_Why is he here? Why.. why? Why wouldn't he just let me figure out my life by myself? Why does he have to mess up with my life everytime?_ The questions never stopped. Sakuno stood, and screamed. She was living a screwed-up life, even more screwed-up than arithmetic, or even a love triangle. All she ever wanted was for Ryoma to show out his hidden affections for her. It was that simple. Why did it have to be so complicating?

"Sakuno, if you don't mind, could I please have a moment with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Could I explain myself?"

"Go ahead. I'm listening," Sakuno said, sniffing. He handed her a tissue, and she forced herself to smile. She couldn't look bad in front of Ryoma.

"All I wanted to do, is to ask you to the prom. It was that simple.. but.. I just thought the words couldn't come out from my lips. So I decided to pen it down. Write everything in a piece of paper, and slot it in your locker. Life was simple like that. But.. I made a major mistake. Instead of slipping it into your locker, I slipped it into that girl's locker. I'm sorry, Sakuno. But, may I still have the honour to be your escort to the prom?" Ryoma explained, stretching his hand out to help his princess.

Sakuno smiled and took his hand. With the other hand, she brushed off tears. Tears of joy.

"Ready whenever you are, Ryoma."

* * *

Sorry minna, cliffhangers. i never stop adding cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. Probably the next chapter will be its last.. because this has been dragging on for a long, long time. Anyway, owari for now! And, hope you enjoyed reading! 


	9. Dancing in the Moonlight

Yo minna! Well, I have a feeling this will be my last and final chapter of the fanfic. I _could_ put up an epilogue, if you want. But it will be about the future, and nothing more from the prom. Which could only mean one thing, readers :) and i think you might know! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fic as much as I enjoyed typing it.. anyway, here you go, chapter 9!

White eternity > yeah, RyoSaku

Mel >yup, i did update. I just updated ysterday

NOTE : Please bear with my grammatical errors, spelling errors, etc. No one is perfect, and I'm FAR from perfect :) oh and, this has some connection to my previous fanfics, e.g. Ice Cold Baby Girl, Himawari, Behind the Smile and 1000 Words. But up to this point of the story, or rather, the point of the story of 1000 Words where Yuko still lay bedridden, but now, she is doing alright, except that she's just rather weak.

* * *

"Sakuno, you look stunning!" Tomoka squealed. Sakuno blushed in reply, as usual. Sakuno felt tears gathering in her eyes. _This is the night,_ she thought. _It's my dream come true._ Her dream of going to the prom escorted by her prince, Ryoma Echizen, was about to come true. Ever since she laid her eyes on him the first time she met him, which was exactly three years ago, Sakuno felt that Ryoma was the right one for her. She had laid a huge crush on him, and never stopped liking him till this very day. She thought of giving up on Ryoma earlier this year, but Ryoma never failed to make her heart beat faster.

After receiving the invite from Ryoma, Sakuno had decided to go shopping for a gown with her best friend, Tomoka. After 5 hours of trying out clothes in countless shops, Sakuno finally found a suitable one. It was pale pink, with two layers. The outer layer was chiffon, whereas the inner layer was silk. It was long and flowing, and had frills at the end of the gown, which was cut diagonally. It had traces of little beads at the end of the dress, and at the sleeve as well. Her sparkling silver high heels shone even under her house lighting.

As for makeup, Tomoka had done it for Sakuno. She had made Sakuno's makeup light. A little bit of light pink lipstick, and some blush was all it took to make Sakuno look more beautiful than she was. Her hair (NOTE: Yes, I cut it for her, but it grows, right? So right now, it's longer.) was let down, and Tomoka had made additional efforts to make it even straighter than it was (which was impossible, Sakuno's hair was already straight, simply because it had been years since she cut her pigtails and tied her hair into braids).

Their dates (Tomoka was going out with Horio, simply because I needed her to go to the prom with someone.) were to pick them up, and they would gather at Fuji's house (he offered) before departing for the prom.

"I'm sure Ryoma will be amazed! I bet he never thought you could be that beautiful.." Tomoka blabbed.

"Tomo-chan… you're exaggerating!" Sakuno replied. She blushed again at the compliment. But she had to admit she looked like a whole new Sakuno. She felt more confidence in herself, and didn't look as doubtful as she usually did.

"Oh come on! Eh? That's the doorbell, Sakuno-chan! Gambatte!" Tomoka cheered upon hearing the doorbell ring. Once again, Sakuno blushed. She didn't even need to apply the makeup, because her face was all red.

* * *

Ryoma rang the doorbell, with Horio by his side. They actually had gone to pick up Tomoka first, but she was at Sakuno's. Understandable. After all, they were best friends. But Horio wasn't his best friend. He didn't have any best friends. There was Momo-senpai, but Momo-senpai was just his senior. Momo-senpai was his closest friends, but they never became best friends, unlike Eiji-senpai and Oishi-senpai, the golden pair. Ryoma wouldn't want Horio as his best friend. Boastful, loud, and just what the saying says : empty vessels make the most noise.

Minutes have passed since he last rang the doorbell. Thinking no one heard it, Ryoma pressed the bell again. This time, Sakuno opened the door. Ryoma was amazed. Sakuno was… simply beautiful. She didn't look like the blur girl that she actually was. She looked confident of herself, and that's what Ryoma liked. Even though no one could see the confident Sakuno, Ryoma felt it. He knew that Sakuno could be the person she wasn't, and that girl was spectacular.

For the first time in his life, Ryoma was speechless. He was staring, and he felt as if he saw the most beautiful living thing in the world. Sakuno looked even more beautiful than Arwen, or Cinderella, or.. Rapunzel! _What am I to say? Do I say she's the most beautiful living thing on earth? No. I'm at a loss for words._ Ryoma thought, staring at the doorway.

"Um.. Ryoma-kun, daijoubu ka?" Sakuno queried.

"Oh?Um.. you're very beautiful tonight."

Sakuno couldn't resist blushing. She just felt her face become warmer.

"Ryoma-kun! Come have a seat inside first, while Tomoka does last-minute touch-ups on her makeup!" Sakuno said, pointing to the sofa. He obeyed, and joined Horio on the sofa.

"What am I to do? What should I say? Echizen, tasukete..!!" Horio murmured.

"Tch. Mada mada da ne."

Meanwhile…

"Is this alright, Sakuno-chan?" Tomoka asked. She wanted to look perfect for the night, even though she had to go with the person she never wanted to go with in the first place ; Horio.

"Yup! Come on, we've got a prom to rock tonight!"

* * *

Ryoma, Sakuno, Horio and Tomoka arrived at Fuji's home, only to be greeted by Fuji's sister, Yumiko.

"Have a seat, minna! Syusuke has gone to pick up Miyuki, and I think the rest should be coming soon. Make yourself at home, while I go and prepare some cookies for you all!" Yumiko said, smiling.

After what seemed like less than a minute, Kikumaru arrived with his date for the night, Yuki. When they entered the house, they seemed rather angry at each other. They were squabbling over what seemed to be, Kikumaru's toothpaste box.

"It's your fault for throwing away that special box nyaaa, I wanted to keep it and frame it up!" Kikumaru wailed. Yuki was stubborn and refused to lose.

"How did I know? Your toilet was so messy, and I was so bored, so I cleaned it up for you! You should have thanked me! God, how did you live in such.. disorderly conditions?" she complained. They went on, and on, and on.

"Ano.. Kikumaru-senpai, Haragiri-senpai.. please stop fighting, it's not good for the both of you.." Sakuno said, trying to break up the two.

"HMMPH! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" They both said in unison, their backs against each other. No matter how serious the fight was, Eiji and Yuki looked so perfect for each other. After a short moment of silence, Eiji apologized.

"Gomen ne, Yuki-chan. Sorry for yelling at you like that, I was just pretty angry you threw away something that I have always wanted to keep all my life nya.."

"I should be the one apologizing! I should have asked you whether to throw it away.." Yuki continued. They gazed at each other, and soon they were locked in a forgiving embrace.

"They're so like that. HOW SWEET!" Tomoka exclaimed.

* * *

Soon, almost everyone was there, except for Fuji, Tezuka, and their dates.

"What's taking them so long, I'm fricking hungry!" Momo exclaimed. Oishi was clutching his cell phone, hoping to hear from them. He was walking around the Fuji's' living room, worried about what happened to them. Everyone was worried. What on earth was happening?

"Minna! Gomen nasai, we were very late," a familiar soft and feminine voice said. Everyone turned their heads. They guess right ; it was none other that Fuji Syusuke. He was hand in hand with his girlfriend, Tezuka Miyuki. Beside him was Tezuka Kunimitsu, their ever-emotionless captain. His hazel eyes gazed softly at the frail girl by his side, namely Yuko, his fiancée. She smiled happily at everyone else.

"Yeah! All because nii-chan forgot where he put his tie..!" Miyuki complained. The older Tezuka just glared at his sister.

"Since everyone's here, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Momo exclaimed, hand in hand with An-chan. She looked up to the boy and nodded her head in agreement. Ryoma didn't dare hold Sakuno's hand; maybe she wouldn't like it.

"Ano.. Ryoma-kun, we better hurry, everyone's leaving!" Sakuno called out to him, taking him back to face reality. This time, he knew he could not deny his feelings for her. He took her hand and he walked her to the limo. She blushed, but deep inside, Sakuno had longed for the prince to hold her hands.

* * *

The music was playing softly in the background. Ryoma was leaning against a pillar, drinking a can of Ponta (A/N : How he got it, I don't know. Hahaha). Sakuno was busy talking to everyone else, and didn't have a dance with him yet. She was busy, after all, and Ryoma sucked at dancing.

He noticed the girl who previously thought that Ryoma had invited her to the prom. In fact, she was dancing along with her partner, with that air of pride around her. However, Ryoma had successfully deflated her ego. That must have had some impact on that girl. Whenever their eyes met, she would glare daggers at him. He didn't care; all he wanted was Sakuno to be happy.

"You're looking very lonely," a voice called out to him. It was Sakuno. She looked so pretty that Ryoma actually wanted to hug her on the spot. For the first time, Ryoma Echizen smiled. He didn't smirked. He smiled. At Sakuno Ryuzaki.

Sakuno was pretty surprised. She had seen Ryoma Echizen, the emotionless and heartless boy, smile at her.

"Do you want to dance?" Sakuno asked. She knew she had to make a move first, or else the both of them would be looking like wallflowers, doing nothing in particular.

"No thanks, I don't know how to."

"How can you go for the prom when you don't know how to dance at all?"

"I was forced."

"Fine, fine! Come on, I'll teach you."

"If you say so," Ryoma continued. She placed her hand on his shoulder, and got his hand to hold her waist. With patience, Sakuno taught Ryoma how to do a simple box step. At first he had stepped on her toes a couple of times. Then again, no one is perfect. Not even Ryoma Echizen. However, Ryoma was a fast learner. In five minutes, Ryoma was dancing like a pro. Whenever their eyes met, Ryoma could see and feel something. It was the same for Sakuno as well.

Soon, the band played a slow song. They waltzed slowly, and Sakuno put her head on Ryoma's shoulder.

"I've been wanting to do this for a very long time, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno whispered, hoping not to disrupt that special moment. Ryoma stroked her hair, and caressed her smooth face. It was not the time for a kiss, especially not in front of thousands of kids. Sakuno just knew the right place.

Hand in hand with Ryoma, she walked to the balcony. It was just the two of them, and Ryoma could gaze her eyes without anyone throwing a remark. He could hold her as long as he wanted to, he could do anything.

The time was just right. He leaned forward, and so did she. Their lips met for the very first time, under the moonlight. Ryoma let his tongue do the talking, and before he knew it, he had kissed Sakuno Ryuzaki. He could no longer deny his feelings towards her. She smiled up at him, and hugged him even tighter.

_Thank you, Ryoma. It's a dream come true. All the time, I just wanted to say these three words, but I couldn't. I thought you wouldn't like it. At that time, you wouldn't have. But right now, you will, won't you? Thank you for making my day a perfect day. Thank you for making my life so wonderful._ Sakuno thought to herself.

"Aishiteru, Ryoma," Sakuno said softly, and Ryoma grinned at her. He held her so close to him, she could hear his heart beat.

"I love you too, Sakuno. I'm sorry if I had hurt you before, but I know now I cannot deny my true feelings," Ryoma whispered in her ear.

_I love you very much, Ryoma, and I always will.

* * *

_

Well, I know it was a bit OOC. Ooops i mean VERY OOC.But I just love Ryoma and Sakuno! Well, yes I SO made Ryoma OOC. He would NEVER do that! No matter how much I'd cry for an episode like this appearing in Tenipuri in the near future.. but!! Hahaha.. fyi, that's the end of the fic. Finito! Owari! Unless you want an epilogue, but that shall be about THEIR future, which I shall umm, write about. once again, thanks to all the faithful readers who have been reading this for so long, I never got to update. HAHAHA. -pkaye


	10. Epilogue : The Second Samurai

Sorry to keep everyone waiting on their toes for the epilogue of 'Down the Road'! Hmm... well this will be a spoiler of Ep129, The Samurai's Song (I think. Hehehe). So, if you don't want to spoil your story, I suggest you shouldn't read the epilogue. Hmm... well, PART of my fanfic is going to be a part of that episode, so yah. Anyway, for those who want to read, I hope you enjoy the fic!

* * *

In the near future... (approximately 15 years after this story began)

"Ryoma, are you sure you want to stop going for tournaments?" a concerned Ryuzaki Sakuno asked. He nodded his head, but his eyes were fixed on something else. He was tossing tennis balls to a small boy with his eyes, only with brown hair. Beside the small boy was a girl with the same features as Ryoma. She had his eyes, but all she had was Sakuno's hair, as well. They were identical twins.

"B-but Ryoma, if you win another tournament, you will break the record as the top player in America!" Sakuno retorted.

"Sakuno, I know what I'm doing. I'm quitting from being a pro."

Sakuno observed her husband. He was tossing tennis balls to their twins that were only three years old. He squatted down, and smiled. "Here, Ryu, Sakuma!" he said.

The kids, clutching a tennis racket each, were trying to hit the tennis ball. The both of them tried to hit the ball, but they were unsuccessful.

Sakuno thought about her past. It had been a long, long time ago since she was a Seishun Gakuen student. After their prom night, Sakuno and Ryoma saw more of each other. When they were in high school, Ryoma would play tennis with Sakuno. Obviously, Ryoma would win, even after trying not to hit the ball too hard. He would hit normally, but Sakuno was... Sakuno. True, her skills had improved, but Ryoma could only think of one phrase to describe her: mada mada da ne.

Besides tennis, Ryoma would also go to her house (because she would call, complaining that she didn't know how to do the homework and needed Ryoma's help). He would take that time to stare at her without her noticing. Before they could even think about it, they were an item.

However, one decision had changed Sakuno's world.

"I'm going back to America tomorrow," was all Ryoma could say on the phone. His house was already in boxes, ready to be shipped off to California. He wasn't caught by surprise; in fact, his father had informed Ryoma that they were moving back to America a month ago. He wanted to tell Sakuno, but it was just hard. He kept on forgetting, and forgetting.

Ryuzaki Sakuno was speechless. Her boyfriend was leaving the country on the next day itself. She couldn't say that he was to stay back in Japan. 'Perhaps America was for him, after all.' Sakuno thought. Tears trickled onto her cheeks, and a tear landed on her shirt.

"Sakuno, are you there?"

"Oh, Ryoma-kun. Uh, yeah," Sakuno stuttered, trying to hold her tears. Why on Earth was she crying anyway? She wiped off the tears.

"Uh, Ryoma-kun, I'll call you tomorrow then, alright? Bye," Sakuno stammered, quickly putting the phone down.

Ryoma Echizen could never understand girls. _Hey, at least I told her!

* * *

_

Ryoma was waiting impatiently for Sakuno's call the next day. She NEVER did call. _Perhaps I should be the one calling her instead..._

Ryoma picked up the phone and dialed her number, but her grandmother said she wasn't at home. _Damn, where could she be?_

Ryuzaki Sakuno was playing tennis against the wall. She hit the ball so hard on the wallm that there was a black spot. She was so frustrated and angry. _Baka Ryoma. Why is he going to __America__? Why can't he stay back here, in __Japan_

Ryoma knew exactly where to find Sakuno, and he had found her there. She was whacking the tennis ball, probably venting out her anger at it. _She looks mad. Uh oh._

Ryoma approached the girl, who glared daggers at him.

"You're leaving soon, Echizen. Why bother coming here?" Sakuno said, coldly.

"I just want to hand this to you, Sakuno, because you deserve this more than anyone else does. Keep it well," Ryoma said, handing Sakuno a plastic bag, which had Ryoma's regular's jacket in it. He turned back, and walked off. Sakuno left the bag on the floor and ran towards Ryoma.

"R-Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno exclaimed, hugging the ouji-sama from the back. He clutched onto her hand, and smiled. _I'm sorry Sakuno. I have to leave. Take care. And.. if we're meant to be, we'll see each other in the future.

* * *

_

Sakuno was already 20, and she was in university. Time flied, and it had been two years since her boyfriend left for California, USA. His jacket was kept in a box, where she kept all memories, especially of him. She should have stayed in contact with him, but she simply forgot. 'I'm so forgetful, I forgot to ask for his e-mail address!'Sakuno thought.

For the summer holidays, Sakuno planned to fly to America. It was going to be a fun experience, and besides, probably she could bump into Ryoma over there! Her grandmother had moved there too, and was welcoming her with open arms.

Upon arrival in California, Ryuzaki Sumire was already waiting for her granddaughter. She had grown so much since the last time they met, which was approximately two years ago. Ryuzaki-sensei still played tennis, but she no longer coached. Seeing Seigaku become the champions for three years consecutively was good enough for her. Besides, she knew when she had to retire from coaching.

In California, Sakuno decided to take a summer job at a tennis club. She could watch people play; and chances for Sakuno to spot Ryoma out of the crowd that went there, was pretty high. Besides Karupin, tennis was his love. Tennis was his life.

She worked as a waitress in the country club's restaurant. (A/N : Um, in Malaysia, we have country clubs, which don't literally mean clubs out in the country, but a club which has almost everything under one roof. Facilities vary, depending on the club, but they most likely have huge golf courses, tennis courts, badminton courts, swimming pools, sauna, gymnasiums, bowling alleys, squash courts, ping pong tables, restaurants, and some even have SHOPS in there. All I know is that, the one that I usually go to with my friends have all that, and they also have florists, tiny playground for children. But memberships for exclusive country clubs like these are EXPENSIVE. LOL. But basically, country clubs are located in the suburban areas, or sometimes even very, very far from the city because land would be cheap if it's away from the cities. So, yeah.) The people that came varied, from old, retired men who played tennis to pass their time, to young children who would someday become pro players.

One day, Sakuno saw Ryoma once again. He was playing tennis against the wall, and she had just been dismissed from work. Sakuno rubbed her eyes, to make sure it was Ryoma Echizen that she saw. Yes, it was none other than him. He still looked the same, that air of arrogance, those golden feline eyes and that smirk. That was Ryoma Echizen.

Sakuno walked towards the grown-up boy. He, who felt the presence of someone else, stopped playing against the wall. He let the ball bounce, and then caught it with his free hand. He turned to see his visitor, but he never expected it to be Ryuzaki Sakuno. Ryoma thought he would never see her anymore, because his father said that he was to stay in America.

"Ano... Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno said, stuttering. Ryoma walked towards her, and without words, they embraced and then kissed. Her eyes widened in surprise; Ryoma-kun would never do anything like that! But then she understood. He had missed her.

She broke the kiss; and he looked into her brown eyes. _It shows surprise. Was my kiss that bad?_

"Ryoma-kun, I didn't think I could see you here..."

"Neither did I. How long are you staying here?" Ryoma asked, now looking more like his usual self.

"Ano, two months."

"Hmm, have you seen the things you must see while you're here?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno shook her head and smiled at Ryoma, blushing.

"I'll take you wherever you want to go. Leave it to me."

* * *

The time Sakuno spent in California seemed to go by so fast. Before she knew it, it was the end of her holidays, and her time with Ryoma. She wasn't going to see him for a long, long time. However, this time, they exchanged e-mails and kept in contact. They had a long distance relationship on the Internet, and sometimes called each other. They went on like that for five years, until Ryoma decided he had to take action.

One day, when Sakuno was online, she got a strange e-mail from Ryoma. It just read: 'be at the airport at noon tomorrow, and wait for the flight from San Francisco.' _He couldn't be coming back, could he?_ However, the next morning, she headed to the airport.

It was already noontime, and she still saw no sign of Ryoma. _What's all this about anyway?_

When she was about to leave, Ryoma spotted her. He ran after her, and he tried to shout out her name, but no sound came out. When he could finally shout out for her, he could see all eyes on him. But the most important thing was Sakuno knew that it was no scam that he was going to be back in Japan. He came back alone this time, just to see Sakuno. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Sakuno stopped and turned back, when she heard her name called out. It was Ryoma's voice! She ran towards him, and was in his arms. She truly missed her prince. He tousled her brown hair and smiled at her. He dug out a small box from his pocket, and opened it for Sakuno.

"Ryuzaki Sakuno, will you marry me?" Ryoma said on one knee, beaming. Sakuno cried out of joy.

"Only a person out of her mind would reject you!" Sakuno laughed; and Ryoma slid the ring on her slender finger.

* * *

Wedding bells could be heard in a small church in California. Many people had been invited to Ryoma Echizen and Sakuno Ryuzaki's wedding, and many had also turned up. Oishi and Kikumaru were sobbing, touched by how their dream had come true; their dream about seeing Echizen at the altar, waiting to take Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter as his wife. Fuji had obviously brought his camera, and didn't refrain from taking photos. Tezuka had also turned up for the event. Ryoma, who he felt had the power to be the pillar of Seigaku, had grown up. Momoshiro felt touched to be able to witness his good friend's wedding, and so was Tomoka.

"Seishun da na!1" Oishi chirped, and everyone agreed. It was definitely youth.

* * *

Sakuno smiled at her husband, who was already teaching their twins how to play tennis. Their choice to continue staying in America was a good one; besides, Sakuno knew the two would be the next big faces in tennis. Nanjiroh Echizen was glad that he was able to live until the day he saw his seishounen2 marry the girl of his dreams, and that he was able to see his grandchildren. He could see their potential already. Chip off the old block.

Ryoma Echizen had made the decision to quit being a tennis pro; and decided to teach his children, just like how his father had sacrificed his career for him. And look at him now; trophies and medals decorated their modest home. He was going to make his children fight to the end.

* * *

Uh yeah, lame ending. GOMEN! I knew I HAD to make an ending, after all. So yeah, if you're confused, the beginning part was the EXACT same thing that had happened in ep 129, where Nanjiroh was teaching Ryoma. But in this case, Ryoma has TWINS, and yeah. And basically after that part, it's what happened between him and Sakuno. Sorry if it's really mixed up... but yeah. I hope you have enjoyed the story and THANK YOU if you did. So, please review nya! sankyuu!

1 well, it means: "Ah, youth," kinda thing. He said that in Ryoma's song in SR Samurai, 'Kimi wa Dokomade Mo'.

2 seishounen: young boy, what Nanjiroh calls Ryoma.


End file.
